A Cozy Winter Meal

Welcome back 

Dear Readers,

Dear Friends.

It was a cold wintry afternoon,

and we were 

tired and hungry.

And I knew precisely 

what my friends 

and I needed.

Perhaps you can guess?

Yes, that's right.

A warm 

nurturing meal. 

So 

I grabbed my baking pan

and turned the oven to 350 degrees. 

Into the pan went a few duck legs, that I drizzled 

with olive oil and aceto moscato. 

I sprinkled them with 

sea salt and pepper. 

Threw in

 a halved head of garlic,

a couple star anise,

cinnamon sticks,

and a generous handful of prunes. 

I covered the baking dish

and into the oven this went 

for 1 1/2 hours. 

The house began to smell wonderful

and when the time came,

I uncovered the dish,

and added a couple quartered Bosc Pears. 

Back into a 400 degree oven this went, 

uncovered for another 20 - 30 minutes. 

Could this have been any easier,

or more delicious?

Served on a 

bed of couscous with a

2008 Arterberry Maresh Pinot Noir, Maresh Vineyard

Wine Advocate - Even better is the 2008 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard, sourced from 40-year-old vines. Dense ruby red in color, it offers up a sensual perfume suggesting that much more is to come. Asian spices, incense, rose petal, black cherry, and black raspberry aromas lead to a loaded, focused, and impeccably balanced, seamless Pinot...

my friends and I warmed to a stunning glow and couldn't have been happier.